Gilbert town manager gets high marks amid review

Charged with the task of leading one of Arizona's leanest municipal governments, Gilbert Town Manager Patrick Banger has made an immediate impact during his first year at the organization's helm.

Since joining the town in August 2011, Banger has effected major changes in Gilbert's budgeting practices and organizational structure while emphasizing economic development and long-term planning. His first year was characterized by rapid change, resurgent growth and sometimes-controversial upheaval.

The Town Council last week began a two-part annual review for Banger, with meetings behind closed doors in executive session. While council members are limited in discussing details of such private sessions, Mayor John Lewis said the group is generally "positive" toward the manager.

"In talking throughout the year, the council has been very pleased with the performance, and there's more to come," Lewis said. "We're not saying he's perfect, because you wouldn't say that about anyone."

Employee and resident reaction to Banger's administration has been mixed, with some applauding greater transparency while others saying the town is still not doing enough.

Last fall, Banger announced Gilbert would begin working through a new zero-based budget process, which required departments to justify each line-item expense rather than roll over base budgets from previous years.

Although that provoked some initial fears among town employees, officials said the anxiety turned into optimism as management built trust within the organization. Employees were able to find items in previous budgets that weren't as relevant now, allowing that funding to be redirected to more-critical needs, officials said.

Banger said the "highly successful" budget process stood out among the greatest accomplishments during his first year.

Gilbert has put new checks and balances in place to ensure that every contract reviewed by the Town Council has been signed off by the finance director and town attorney, who make sure it complies with applicable codes, ordinances and statutes, Banger said.

Organizational changes have been plentiful during Banger's tenure, with multiple departments restructured, several jobs eliminated and new positions created.

Last spring, Gilbert hired a "chief digital officer" to oversee public communications, social media and marketing. The town also hired an assistant lobbyist to help represent the community at the state Legislature and regional boards.

The fiscal 2013 budget, the first built with Banger's new zero-based approach, included funding for additional seasonal workers at town parks, a tax auditor, two information-technology positions and a council chief of staff.

Meanwhile, Banger's administration eliminated one of its two assistant town manager positions, its support-services director and an administrative assistant in the Town Prosecutor's Office.

Banger reassigned the town's economic-development team to report directly to his office and promoted then-Economic Development Manager Dan Henderson to the director level. The town plans to hire two new economic-development specialists to boost business attraction and expansion efforts.

Creating high-wage jobs is an area of "strategic importance" to the council, and Gilbert faces challenges with a smaller staff than most other communities in the region, Banger said.

"Gilbert did not set aside as much ground as other communities for commercial activity, and we don't have spec office space of significant size," Banger said, noting that puts Gilbert "at a disadvantage against neighboring communities as the gap in price of new construction versus existing space is still too great."

Lewis said Banger's economic-development skill set has been impressive.

"He has been able to be the right person at the right place at the right time," Lewis said. "For Gilbert in the future, I'm seeing a lot of good things happen."

The town experienced several triumphs and disappointments related to economic development during Banger's first year.

Banner Health announced major expansion plans at Banner Gateway Medical Center and is looking to build a smaller medical plaza near Town Hall. The federal government revealed plans for a Veterans Affairs clinic near SanTan Village mall, and the town has revised permitting rules to allow construction projects to advance more quickly.

On the other hand, highly-touted technology company Infusionsoft has decided to leave Gilbert for a larger building in Chandler, and several businesses were kicked out of their SanTan Village office space after a tenant-landlord relationship failed.

Recognizing Gilbert's shortcomings while remaining optimistic about the future, Banger and other town officials assembled a five-year strategic plan to coordinate efforts targeting the the bio-medical industry and are working with local landowners to encourage dense, vertical development along the Loop 202 freeway.

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Promises, promises

When Gilbert Town Manager Patrick Banger took the reins last year, he mentioned several short-term and long-term goals in his discussions with the Town Council and The Republic. Here's a look at how he has performed related to those goals:

Director evaluation

Issue: Banger said the town manager will provide annual reviews for each director going forward. For years, no such evaluations had been conducted, he said.

Results: Gilbert will roll out director evaluations beginning next month, first setting expectations and then measuring performance, town spokeswoman Dana Berchman said. Banger will use the same form the council uses in evaluating his performance, Berchman said.

Promises, promises

When Gilbert Town Manager Patrick Banger took the reins last year, he mentioned several short-term and long-term goals in his discussions with the Town Council and The Republic. Here's a look at how he has performed related to those goals:

Purchasing manager

Issue: Banger said he planned to hire a procurement administrator to handle purchasing for the entire town. Previously, each department assigned its own employees for purchasing.

Results: Gilbert this year hired purchasing administrator Doug Boyer, who works with town departments to ensure compliance with the purchasing code. He is involved with nearly every contract used by the town.

Promises, promises

When Gilbert Town Manager Patrick Banger took the reins last year, he mentioned several short-term and long-term goals in his discussions with the Town Council and The Republic. Here's a look at how he has performed related to those goals:

"Green" programs

Issue: Banger said the town will look to new technology to further develop recycling and other ecological programs.

Results: While Gilbert has boasted a relatively successful recycling program, officials set a goal to increase participation from 17 to 30 percent by fiscal 2016. The town recently opened a fire station it hopes will achieve LEED status for environmentally-friendly design.

Promises, promises

When Gilbert Town Manager Patrick Banger took the reins last year, he mentioned several short-term and long-term goals in his discussions with the Town Council and The Republic. Here's a look at how he has performed related to those goals:

Long-range planning

Issue: Banger said long-range planning will remain a priority for the town.

Results: Gilbert has undertaken several comprehensive plans and studies intended to guide the town as it matures. Results from the town's employee compensation study are due around the end of the year, and the findings should be implemented by July 2013. The Parks Master Plan is expected to be complete by June or July 2013.